Karen Jeselun, RN, CCM, CSA, CEO Villa Home Care

Karen is the last person to talk openly of her years of accomplishments, but once you work with her they easily come to the surface.  Striving to set the ‘Gold Standard’ for private duty in Maricopa County when there are no licensure regulations or other rules for non-medical companies, Karen has insisted that Villa require credentialing for our staff that many others may not.  Examples of Villa policies include background checks, driving records, bonding and insurance.  She has been an RN for over 32 years and has held management positions in home health, hospice, assisted living and private duty healthcare related companies in both Wisconsin and Arizona.  Her Bachelors of Science Degree is from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Involvement in state organizations is important in order to stay current with a rapidly changing industry.  Currently having membership in the National Association for Professional Geriatric Care Managers, Society for Senior Advisors, the National Private Duty Association, the Maricopa Alliance for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, the Arizona Home Health Association, the Arizona Hospice and Palliative Care Associaiton, the Arizona Excellence Group, she also facilitates a Macular Degeneration Support Group for VerdeCares.

Karen has been married to Jim, her business partner, for the past 35 years.  They have one daughter, Kelly, who is a pilot with Southwest Airlines.  They share a cabin in the mountains which they built themselves; and the love of the outdoors with Sammi, a very special black lab.  A love for reading and watching her team “Go Packers” will never get in the way of what Karen does best, leading a team of dedicated professionals you can trust.

Preserving dignity, independence and resources for our clients and their families

Theresa Bercel, RN Care Manager

Theresa has dedicated herself to working for the developmentally disabled and elderly population for over 24 years.

Prior to joining Villa Home Care, Theresa is proud to say she took a leave of absence to provide 24 hour care the last six months for her Mom.  Locked in a personal fight with the medical community to bring her Mother home to live out her last wish – to be cared for at home, Theresa leaned hard on her years of medical experience.  Theresa’s love as a patient advocate of the senior client brought her to Villa Home Care as an RN Care Manager in 2006.  Theresa’s hospital and home health experience gave her the insight so that her focus is to provide peace of mind to the needs of each client in the role of Geriatric Care Manager.  As an RN for Olsten Kimberly Care she supervised an Arizona State run facility; gained experience in pediatrics, orthopedics, telemetry and geriatrics at Scottsdale Healthcare System; and Winsor Group Home perfected her abundant patience as she worked with developmentally disabled adults and their families.

Theresa has an Associate’s Degree in Nursing, IV, PICC line certification and is working on her Geriatric Care Management certification.

Originally from Michigan, Theresa and husband Mark, a bass fisherman and custom home builder, have two daughters and two grandchildren and share a love of animals.

Karen Hernandez, LMSW, C-ASWCM, Care Manager

Karen has made helping others her number one priority and focus.  She spent six years earning her Bachelors and Masters Degree in Social Work from Arizona State University.  Her social work experience has been in both domestic violence and hospital social work.  She spent a year working at a domestic violence shelter where she helped manage the “Thanks Offering” grant that provided a playground for the shelter’s safe house.  It also helped remodel the old safe house into a therapeutic classroom.  Karen has spent a considerable amount of time as a domestic violence advocate, where she provided case management to the shelter participants.

Karen spent a year at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, a Level One Trauma Center, at the Rehabilitation Institute.  There she helped facilitate patient discharge planning, provided crisis intervention, grief counseling, and helped provide community resources.  Karen has obtained her Licensure in Social Work through the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health.  In addition, she has also obtained a Certificate in Advanced Social Work Case Management.

Karen has been working with Villa Home Care for the past two years.  Her main purpose when working with her clients is to help preserve their self determination and dignity.  Nothing makes her more happy than to see her client continue to live in the comfort of their own home safely.  Karen continues to expand her knowledge by continuing her education through conferences and seminars.  Education is very important to her so that she may provide her clients with the best information.

Karen was born and raised in Arizona.  She is married to Jorge who works in the communications field.  They have a 5 year old son, Angel, who always keeps them laughing.  She loves to spend time running around after Angel and watching the Phoenix Suns with her husband.

Phyllis Turner, MSW Care Manager

Phyllis comes to Villa Home Care with many years of experience in the mental health field, Alzheimer’s care, and elder care. You will find that Phyllis does not like to talk about herself, she believed there are more important individuals in the world to speak about and she is not one of them.

Phyllis has many accomplishments in her life.  She is the mother of three children and two grandchildren.  While raising her family, she received her Associates Degree in Paralegal, BA in Psychology and her Master’s in Social Work.  She is currently attending Walden University to obtain her PhD in Psychology and will be graduating in 2012.  Phyllis recently became a life time member of the Cambridge “Who’s Who” and member of the National Association of Social Workers.

Over the past 10 years, Phyllis has worked as a hotline supervisor and care manager for the Family Violence Center in Springfield, Missouri.  During her time working in the shelter she was a group facilitator to all women of domestic issues, providing care to her clients and challenging her clients to a better life.  Phyllis also worked in the mental health field at Cox Health Systems in the adult inpatient psychiatric unit for over 8 years including the Geriatric Mental Health Unit.  During these 8 years of inpatient care her patients inspired her to continue her education to learn more about mental illness and human behavior.  After graduating from Missouri State University with her Master’s in Social Work, she obtained employment with the Alzheimer’s Association S.W. Chapter of Missouri.  This is where working with the elderly and Alzheimer’s patients became her passion.

Phyllis loves to travel and would someday like to take a cruise and visit London.  She loves animals and has three cats, Missy, Kitty and Husker, and a English Bull Dog named D.O.G.  She loves football, her favorite teams are the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals, and is an avid bowler with a high score of 279!

Phyllis recently moved to Arizona to be closer to her 81 year old mother.  Phyllis is the Care Manager covering most of the north and west valley.  She enjoys the challenges and rewards of her job, and is looking forward to her new chapter in life residing in Arizona.

Jolene Stromme, RN, MSN, CCM Care Manager

Jolene was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota, one of four children.  She received her BSN at the University of North Dakota and MSN at the University of Phoenix.  Jolene started her career working in skilled nursing homes.  This is where she got her first look at all the different emotions and situations people experience in the healthcare field – good and bad.

Jolene has dedicated herself to help people navigate the healthcare system, utilizing her experience and knowledge with Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance, as well as hospitals, home health, hospice, discharge planning and resource utilization.

Jolene recently passed the test required to become a Certified Case Manager.  Jolene enjoys reading, sewing, watching movies and spending time with family and friends.